Social Differentiation and Reproduction in the Field of Education (Phenomenology of Understanding the Social Differentiation of Kurdistan University Students)

Abstract
The present study seeks the phenomenology of understanding the social differentiation of Kurdistan University students from social reproduction in the field of education. Considering the theories of social reproduction of people such as Bourdieu, Apple, Bowles and Genies, the status of social differentiation has been interpreted and how it is reproduced in the field of education. These theorists believe that formal education is a tool in the hands of certain strata and classes of society to consolidate their desired values and norms and the permanence and consistency of their power within the society that reproduces the field of education. To achieve this goal, we interpret students’ perceptions of this and use the phenomenological method, which seeks to discover the unchanging common experience of all participants. Therefore, in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 students of Kurdistan University faculties in different fields, and the data were formed through four steps of reading and understanding the totality of the data, horizontalization and summarization of the data, and the formation of semantic units. Results: The topics were described and collected and analyzed. The results show that the distinction in choosing the field is the first manifestation of the distinction that upper class students make to achieve and master the educational field. Although this started in high school with a tendency towards private education, due to access to resources, facilities and opportunities in higher education, the distinction is also highlighted and ultimately leads to the continuation of their class position.
Keywords: Social Differentiation, Social Reproduction, Educational Field, Phenomenology, Kurdistan University.
 
1. Introduction
Education should be accepted as one of the main determinants of socio-economic status, and its access, acquisition and enjoyment should be considered dependent on the socio-economic base. This fundamental assumption links education to social space. Bourdieu believes that performing the specialized function of the field of education, like other social fields, requires the existence of (general and specific) characteristics of the field, although Bourdieu believes that the field of education has a social function in addition to specialized work, which he did. It is hidden in the shadow of its technical function. "Educational institution, which acts as the principle of pleasure and the principle of reality, is both the stimulus of the libido of knowledge and the stimulus of the libido of domination, which is hidden under the libido of knowledge and derives from competition. Assuming that the institution of education believed that "by preferring individual talents over hereditary privileges, it can establish a kind of meritocracy, in fact, it seeks to establish through hidden connections between academic talent and cultural heritage to provide a real state aristocracy whose authority and legitimacy is guaranteed by academic titles. Therefore, the field of education helps to reproduce these privileges and maintain the status quo, and in this way, it also reproduces power relations. Power relations also confirm the performance of the aforementioned educational action and will lead to social reproduction. The present research will examine students' understanding of differentiation and how it is reproduced among students of Kurdistan University as important actors in the educational field. The interpretation and explanation of the students' experiences and opinions show the basics of analyzing the differentiation of the university education field, within the framework of which it is possible to criticize this situation. It is very important to address that, as the statistical and theoretical data indicate a gap in the tendency of the upper social classes to higher education and far more distinction in entering important fields. On the other hand, studies show that the market has dominated higher education and has doubled this gap. Taking into account the theories of social reproduction, people such as Bourdieu, Apple, Bowles and Gentis interpret the state of social differentiation and how Its reproduction has been discussed in the field of education. The main question will be what students understand about differentiation and its reproduction in the field of university education and how do they interpret it?
 
2. Materials and Methods
The present research method is a qualitative method. Among the qualitative methods, the phenomenology method is more appropriate in terms of its nature and relationship with the subject and target. The current research has sought to provide a comprehensive understanding of students' experiences and perceptions of differentiation and its reproduction in the academic field. For this purpose, the incoming students from 1997 to 1400 from various fields and faculties of Kurdistan University were interviewed about this issue. An attempt has been made to interview a number of students from each faculty based on purposeful sampling (8 people) and based on students' willingness to participate, and data collection will continue until theoretical saturation. The main method of data collection in phenomenology is interview. Because it is the only way that the participant describes his experiences of the phenomenon with his own language and movements. The phenomenological interview is generally in-depth and semi-structured so that the participant can provide full and comprehensive explanations about the phenomenon without any restrictions. The participants who are interviewed are theoretically selected (theory sampling) so that the researcher can create his theory in the best way. According to the methods used in phenomenological research, four stages can be presented for data analysis. "The first stage includes reading and understanding the entire text of the data. At this stage, the researcher tries to read the data he has transcribed (from the interviews), understand the whole text and find out their inner connection.
 
3. Data
Data in 7 semantic units; Inclination to medical and engineering fields, encouragement to continue education, cost for choosing a field and entering university, orientation to non-profit institutions (campus, etc.), access to reverse education, creating educational motivation, educational opportunities, entering the market Work and maintaining class and family distinctions were categorized. Based on this, the main themes were divided into four categories, differentiation in the choice of field, tendency to private education, access to resources and facilities and opportunities, and continuity of class position. In the analysis of the first category, i.e. the distinction in the choice of field, the interviewees are of the opinion that this distinction starts from the very beginning in high school and even earlier, and in high school, the children of the upper classes continue their education in the university with the aim of securing their career future. They are of the opinion that due to the strong tendency of upper-class families to continue their education and choose their children's majors in the fields of medicine and engineering, it becomes difficult to enter this competitive field, and because they have access to more facilities and resources, They occupy that position. In the second main theme, that is, the trend towards private education, at the high school level, which is the stage before entering higher education, the trend of parents and upper-class families towards private education has increased. In the third theme, that is, access to facilities and opportunities, such as the manifestations of this field of action that the interviewees believe that economic capital has gained more power and strength in the educational space, higher education and access to it depend on the acquisition of capital. He knows economics. In the fourth theme, that is, the continuation of the class position, the reproduction of the class position is not only limited to the category of income and economic capital, but it occupies another field which can be explained mostly by cultural capital.
 
4. Discussion
The results of this research showed that the first distinction in entering the university is the distinction in the choice of field, which happened to the upper classes of the society from the very beginning of the education period. The obvious distinction started in high school. A course that is a prelude to entering a higher education course. This distinction with participating in reinforcement classes, participating in non-profit schools, participating in English language classes and getting a private tutor, etc., has been excellent for targeting education and planning for the educational level. The choice of field has started since this time, but at the university level, it has become a choice of a university field that can [and should] serve to differentiate and maintain the social status of the upper classes. So that the upper classes of society have a strong tendency to choose and enter income-generating fields with high social status, including medicine and engineering. What emerges from the interviews is that the distinction is not only limited to the university, but also related to the tendency of the upper social classes to private educational centers.
 
5. Conclusion
Interviews show that high spending in the field of education, participation of children in English language classes, tendency to go to foreign exchange and continue studying abroad, as well as access to resources, facilities, and opportunities, are the tendencies and subsequently their mastery. has paved the field of education. The main point is that this mastery and distinction is not realized only with economic capital, but requires cultural capital, which is the most important capital for the education field. Students understand that having cultural capital along with economic capital leads to smooth access to higher levels of higher education for those who have the most cultural and economic capital. Cultural capital is also the most important feature that can help to maintain the social and class position of students. In a more straightforward way, having the capital makes continuity more solid.